Stoka Kras Vitovska Penece 2020 (sparkling)

Stoka Kras Vitovska Penece 2020

Vitovska

Kras, Slovenia

“The Štoka farm is located north-east of Trieste about 5 miles from the Adriatic in the village of Krajna Vas. The Kras, or “Carso” as it is called in nearby Italy, is Europe’s first recognized cross border wine region, the two countries even adhere to similar production regulations. Despite its excellent position, very little land in the Kras is suitable for grape cultivation, only 600 hectares of vines are planted between the 2 countries. The tiny amount of fertile soil is the result of various human and natural events. Historically oak forests dominated the land until the Venetians deforested nearly everything to build ships and city of Venice. The resulting erosion and the famously strong winds called the “burja” caused huge amounts of topsoil to simply blow away. People learned how to build stonewalls called “griže” to protect against the wind and small manmade lakes to gather rain called “kali” to keep crops alive. Farmers, including the Štoka family, even learned to transport soil to naturally protected locations

Believed to be a cross between Prosecco Tondo and Malvasia Bianca, Vitovska is the white grape of the Kras. Herbal, lightly aromatic, and often with a lemon honey quality typically takes well to skin contact. However, made as a Peneče (pétillant-naturel), it captures the fresh herbal tea and lemon bit without the more spiced honey flavors. Disgorged once, bottled under a crown cap, and always carries a few grams of RS to balance out the bubbles.” -Danch and Granger